Page 1
April 2012
Tower Talk
Picture of the ‘Mary Ann’ that sailed from
Ipswich, England arriving in Boston,
Massachusetts
June 20, 1637 bringing
John Tower to the United States
By
The Tower Genealogical Society
Chartered in 1909
From the Editor’s Desk...
Greetings Cousins!
The Tower Family Crest
The Coat of Arms is a shield
with three castle towers, a
chevron with three roses, a
knight’s helmet above the shield
and a Mason’s square and
compass above the helmet. These
represent the Masonic Order of
the Roses, a Scottish order.
Inside
Inside this
this issue:
issue:
Letter from the
editor
Page 1
Related to 2 Second
Generation Towers
Page 2
Two Tower lines
Joined
Page 3
Tower/Beherrell
Line
Page 4
Welcome
New Members!
Page 5
Birth
Announcements
Page 6
Spring has come and we are happy to see it! I hope your winter wasn’t too ferocious,
however this newsletter will be going all over the country and Canada, so it’s bound to
reach folks who have been in the sun and surf all winter and others up to their noses in
snow! It has been a mild one for me here in Ohio. We only received an inch at most all
winter but have had some serious flooding. I was very grateful to have been in a
corridor of safety during those awful tornado outbreaks. We are in for more of the
same, or so I hear, so you are all in my prayers for safety as I attach each address label
and think of each of you.
This issue was not easy to put together. As you will notice there is much information
about my family and it’s Canadian roots. I have not received many articles for
publication in recent months so I pretty much drew from my own files.
Michael Tower has provided an article of interest in revealing that he is descended
from two second generation brothers. I wonder how many of us can claim the same
thing? Let us know! I also have two lines from which I am descended and I have
included my family tree.
Also included are some birth announcements that are rather dated. I’m sorry for the
late publication but things got put off and shuffled and things got misplaced. Please
accept my sincerest apologies!
My address in Ohio may soon change again as well and I’m not
sure what the new one will be or even if I will still be in Ohio, or if
I will indeed be moving but I’m grateful for the ability to do the
newsletter and get information from members through
the internet.
Until next time, have a safe and happy spring!
Gloria Holmes Cooper
TGS Newsletter editor
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com
Page 2
April 2012
Related to Two Second Generation Towers
By Michael M. Tower (12), PhD
After pouring over Charlemagne Tower’s Genealogy book, I
traced my ancestry back to Jeremiah (2) Tower, fourth son
of pilgrim John Tower.
Everything settled and no
questions. But then tracing back other family members on
Ancestry.com, I found another Tower in my family tree –
Rachel (3) Tower, daughter of Ibrook (2) Tower, third son of
John.
This revelation revealed that I am directly descended from
two second generation brothers. Ibrook’s daughter, Rachel
(3) and her descendants married into the Hingham,
Massachusetts Bates and Gaines families. These families
along with Peter (5) Tower’s family left Hingham for
western Massachusetts near the end of the Revolutionary
War to seek new lands for farming. Charlemagne’s book
(pg. 76) states that: “Their (pioneers) families made closer
the connections with the Tower Family by frequent
intermarriages.”
My family tree branches merge again with the 1815
marriage of Asa (6) Tower and Clariss Bates (7) in
Cummington, Massachusetts.
I believe this is a fairly
unique family tree.
John Tower
Ibrook Tower
Jeremiah Tower
Rachel Tower Bates
Jeremiah Tower
Bathsheba Bates
Gaines
Peter Tower
Sarah Gaines Bates
Peter Tower
Isaiah Bates
Asa Tower
Calvin Bates
Asa Tower
Does any other Tower newsletter reader have a similar
family tree?
Clariss Bates Tower
Almond Tower
Let’s hear about it.
Nathan Tower
Howard Tower
Donald Tower
Michael Tower
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com
Page 3
April 2012
Two Tower Lines Joined
The Genealogy of William Alma Tower and Minnie Augusta (Tower) Tower
John Tower
John Tower
Benjamin
Tower
Joseph Tower
Benjamin
Tower
George Tower
Joseph Tower
Nathaniel
Tower
Christopher
Tower
Simon Tower
Minnie Tower
Tower
William Tower
Myrtle Tower
Beherrell
William Alma Tower (8) and Minnie Augusta (Tower) Tower (8)
with 4 of their oldest Great grandchildren: James Beherrell,
Barbara Beherrell Melonson, Edna Beherrell McCloud Smith and
Theresa Towers O’Rawe
William Alma Tower, first son of Simon and Frances
Lockhart Tower, born February 4, 1861, married Minnie
Augusta Tower, born July 25, 1861, first daughter of
Christopher and Dorothy Estabrooks Tower December
Wm. Alma Tower was a sailor most of his life, spending
the greater part of his seafaring days upon the nowfamous Blue-Nose Schooners of Nova Scotia. These
schooners carried cargo between Halifax, N.S., and
numerous ports along the Atlantic seaboard of the United
States and the South Sea Islands. When he retired from
the sea, he became a farmer and lumberman in Rockport,
where he owned a considerable tract of land.
Eight Beherrell
children
31
Grandchildren
William Alma Tower died October 21, 1939, aged 78.
Minnie Augusta Tower died November 21, 1948, aged 87.
They are buried in Rockport, NB, Canada.
Children born of this marriage were:
Bess Florence Tower Born August 8, 1886. Died 1918
Myrtle Violet Tower Born December 20, 1887
Theresa May Tower Born January 27, 1890.
Ethel Gertrude Tower Born August 27, 1892 Died 1936
Carl Christopher Tower Born November 25, 1895
Eugene Wilbur Tower Born March 11, 1897.
Alma Clifford Tower Born September 23, 1903.
Herbert Harold Tower Born February 27, 1906.
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com
Page 4
April 2012
The Family of
Myrtle Violet (Tower) Beherrell and Harold Garfield Beherrell
Myrtle Violet Tower, Born December 20, 1887 second
daughter of William Alma Tower and Minnie
Augusta Tower, Married Harold Garfield Beherrell
(Beharrell) - eldest son of James and Ada Boss
Beharrell, born at Amherst Head on January 27, 1882.
They were married by the Reverend Seldon W.
Cummings, who also baptized Myrtle, on December 5,
1906, at Amherst, N. S. Edward Haywood was best man
and Olive Blare was maid of honor. The ceremony was
performed at the parsonage and the transportation was a
sleigh drawn by two shiny black horses wearing white
plumes. The sleigh was lined with red-trimmed buffalo
robes. A supper was given at Mrs. E.J. Lay’s, with special
cake for the bride.
Harold Beherrell came to the United States in 1928 and
settled in Boxford, Massachusetts. He was followed by
his wife and children later in 1928. His wife and children,
having come on a visitor’s permit originally, found it
necessary to return to Canada and re-enter the United
States on a visa later in 1929.
Mr. Beherrell was a strong and diligent worker and
followed many occupations to a satisfactory degree. He
engaged in farming, lumbering, landscape gardening and
masonry. Because he was a lover of the outdoors, he
chose occupations that could be performed in the open
air. He was a dedicated worker and was well thought of
by all he worked with and all who employed him. The last
six years of his employment before retiring was for the
Town of Lynnfield. The largest part of his work was
masonry. He retired in his 70th year in January, 1952,
and was the first employee of the Town of Lynnfield to
retire under the Essex County Retirement Plan. Although
retired from formal employment, Mr. Beherrell still
pursued many labors, utilizing his abilities as a farmer,
landscape gardener, and carpenter on his own farm in
Lynnfield Center. It was not until his 77th year that he
was forced by a serious accident to retire from all
activities. Mr. Beherrell died on January 8, 1963 in his
eighty-first year.
Mrs. Beherrell, after rearing her family, was employed in
the shoe industry as an operator of a dinking machine.
She pursued this type of employment until 1950 when she
was forced to retire for the sake of her health.
Children born of this marriage were:
Nora May Beherrell, Born April 4, 1908, Rockport,
N. B. married Frederick Joseph Rodkowski, oldest son of
Julius and Pauline Stinekavich Rodkowski, on May 15,
1945. Mr. Rodkowski was born in Russian-occupied
Poland on October 19, 1907. His father was a contract
mason and owned considerable property there.
Mr.
Rodkowski’s grandfather was in the service of the Russian
Czar. His father brought Frederick, his younger brother
and his mother to the United States in 1912, because he
feared reprisals by the revolutionists.
Mr. Rodkowski was in the Merchant Marines during
World War II. There was one child born to this marriage.
Samuel Freeman Beherrell, Born July 13, 1910,
Amherst, N.S married Eva Thelma Larkin, November 1,
1933, at 7 Park Street, Lynn. Mass. Miss Larkin, fourth
daughter of Lewis and Annie Louisa Larkin, was born in
East Pumnico, N.S., May 27, 1908. Both Samuel and Eva
were residents of Lynn., Mass., for some years prior to
their marriage. In 1942 Samuel went to work for the
General Electric, River Works Plant, Lynn, MA. There
were 7 children born of this marriage.
Murrel Alma Beherrell, Born July 26, 1912, Amherst,
N.S married Ella Levina Wilkins, only daughter of
William H. and Blanche P. Taylor Wilkins, July 17, 1935.
He was Supervisor of Nondestructive Testing in General
Electric. There were 3 children born of this marriage.
Bessie Evelyn Beherrell, Born November 15, 1914,
Amherst, N. S married Norman H. Hall, son of Henry and
Onie Meers Hall, March 28, 1934. Lynn., Mass. There
were 7 children born of this marriage.
Ethel Alvia Beherrell, Born June 28, 1917, Second
Westcock Hill, N. B. married Henry Milton Tower, first
son of James Milton and Sadie Hughes Tower, April 7,
1937. There were 3 children born of this marriage.
Ada Elizabeth Beherrell, Born March 2, 1922, Second
Westcock Hill, N. B. married Edward D. Hajjar, second
son of Dahar and Anisis Haddad Hajjar, January 15, 1950,
Lawrence, Massachusetts. Edward was born in Lawrence,
Mass., on February 26, 1926. He worked as a Quality
Control Engineer for Raytheon. There were 4 children
born of this marriage.
Laura Aldean Beherrell, Born November 4, 1925,
Sackville, N. B. married William Edward Holmes, fourth
son of Frank Henry and Marion Alma Widden Holmes,
August 9, 1944, William Holmes, born on May 7, 1920,
was employed as a meat cutter for Armour and Co. for the
first few years of their marriage.
He later became
foreman of the Highway Department for the Town of
Lynnfield. There were 6 children born of this marriage.
Harriet Lorraine Beherrell, Born August 7, 1928,
Boxford. Mass. married Richard Earl Patterson, son of
Charles D. and Florence Welch Patterson, June 2, 1955.
Richard Patterson was born April 15, 1930, in Lynn.
Mass. He served two years in the Korean War. The first
part of his service was spent in the front lines and the
latter part was spent in the Military Police, whose
headquarters were in Seoul, Korea. After working a short
time a as radio announcer in Natchitoches, Louisiana, he
returned to his trade as a tool and die maker in Lynn, MA
There were no children born of this marriage.
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com
Page 5
April 2012
Announcements
Welcome New Members
Benjamin Daniel Tower
Walterboro, SC
His lineage: Benjamin Daniel (12), John D. (11), Carl H.
(10), Daniel E. (9), Daniel Edson (8), Hull (7), Matthew
(6), Matthew (5), Matthew (4), Samuel (3), Samuel (2),
and John (1).
His 2nd line is: the same down to Hull (7), Nabby Bates
(6), Sarah Tower (5), Peter (4), Jeremiah (3), Jeremiah
(2), and John (1).
Wallace Tower
Cadillac, MI
His lineage is as follows: Wallace (9), Douglas E. (8),
Charles S. (7), William A. (6), Lucy (5), Laban (4), Peter
(3), Benjamin (2) and John (1).
Helen Reed (Tower) Wilson,
Silver City, NM
Her lineage: Helen Tower (11), Lawrence Phelps Tower
II (10), Adelina Dubois Tower (9), Lawrence P. (8),
Fayette B. (7), Reuben (6), Jeduthan (5), Joseph (4),
Ambrose (3), Benjamin (2) and John (1).
Carol Ann (Reed) Kerrigan,
San Jose, CA
Her lineage is: Carol Reed (11), Halbert Reed (10),
Edith Ross (9), Emma Tower (8), Alvin (7), Martin (6),
Thomas Groce (5), Shadrach (4), Thomas (3),
Benjamin (2) and John (1).
Tower Genealogical Society Board
Patricia Brown
President
1291 S. 16th St.
Grover Beach, CA 93433
[email protected]
Carol Marchegani
Treasurer
7698 Vermont Rt. 100, Readsboro,
VT 05350
[email protected]
Gloria Holmes Cooper
Newsletter Editor
712B Trenton Rd.
Trenton, OH 45067
[email protected]
Janine Battistone
Vice President
3601 Hill Ave. Lot 39, Toledo, Ohio
43607
[email protected]
Katy Conway
Membership Chair
[email protected]
David Tower
Resident Genealogist
219 Amherst Lane,
Crossville, TN 38558
[email protected]
John Tower Sr.
Executive Secretary
83 Heather Lane,
Rutland, VT 05701
[email protected]
Kerri-Lee Jansen
Recording Secretary
164 Wompatuck Rd., Hingham,
MA 02043
[email protected]
Bernard Tower
Director
1304 Via Hielo,
Santa Maria, CA 93454
[email protected]
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com
Page 6
April 2012
Births
Delton Jude Justice
Born July 8, 2011 to
Andrew and Susan Justice
Eric Daniel Schleede
Everett Octavius Schleede
Born July 30, 2011, twin boys born to
Brian & Juliet Gideon Schleede
Irmo, SC
brother of Katlyn and Aeden
Grandparents:
Patricia Tower Scharn & Eric Scharn,
Clearwater, FL
Great grandparents:
Wallace Tower, Cadillac, MI and
Anna Howe of Whitman, MA
of Conesus, NY
Grandparents:
Bob & Judy Barnard Bowser of FL
Marilyn and the late Lynn Frederick Schleede,
Brockport, NY
Charlotte Demmer Barnard and the late John "Jack"
Barnard, Perry, NY.
Elena Marie Tower
Elizabeth Jean Coe
Born March 30, 2011 to
Nathaniel and Stephanie Tower
of Saint Louis, Missouri
Grandparents:
Brian and Becky Tower of Saint Louis, MO and Bill
and Norene Felz of Coal Valley, Illinois.
In Rememberance
Stuart Ray Davis
Born Dec. 2 2011 to
Shane and Jennifer Coe
of North Adams, MA
Grandparents:
Jerry and Gloria Richards of Monroe, MA, Thomas
Ross of Pennsylvania
Great grandparents:
Juan and Thelma Gomez of Monroe, MA
Stuart Davis Monroe, MA,
John and Bernadette Ross of Springfield, MA
Great great grandparents:
The late Walter Davis and Rachel (Tower) Davis
1939-2012
Mr Davis was employed at McCann Technical High
School for the last 22 years. He was a member of
the Readsboro Baptist Church, the Eagles Aeire
#310, and the NRA. Stuart loved nature and being
outdoors fishing and hunting.
Born in Readsboro, VT to
Walter and Rachel Tower Davis,
he is survived by his son, Lonnie A. Davis of
Adams, four daughters; Janice L. Davis of
Belchertown, Gloria A. Richard of Monroe and
Carla Davis-Little of Monroe all of MA.and Lorie A.
Birch of Florida .He was predeceased by siters Vera
Shippee, Marjorie Smith and Janice Davis. He also
leaves 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren
along with cousins, nieces and nephews and his
faithful dog Echo.
Logan Stanley Ryan
Born Jan. 20, 2012 to
Wade and Amanda Ryan
of Brattleboro, VT.
Grandparents:
Brenda Betit of Wilmington VT and
Loren Ryan of Pownal VT.
Francis and Barbara Brown of Halifax, VT
Great grandparents:
Leona (Tower, Betit) Jones of Greenfield, MA and
Howard Ryan of Halifax VT and
The late Joyce Ryan Hamilton
Calling all Tower cousins!
If you have any news or information about your line or family history we’d like to hear about it. You can
email any of the members of the board with the information and they will forward it to me for publication
in the next newsletter. You can also mail any information to me or to any of the addresses listed and it
will also be forwarded to me. We’d love to hear more from the members!
www. TOWERGENEALOGY. com